At the scene, police arrested Timothy R. Levesque, 56, of Swansea. Levesque, who is charged with murder and assault and battery, will be arraigned on those charges Monday morning in Fall River District Court.

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office did not release information as to the alleged motive and circumstances leading up to when Melissa J. White was shot just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday near the corner of Ocean Grove and Bluff avenues. One neighbor said she heard people screaming and car doors slamming while another resident reported hearing two gunshots around that time.

“Stuff like that usually doesn’t happen around here. It’s a shock,” said Glenn Cioe, one of several neighbors who described seeing White often walking along Ocean Grove Avenue.

Neighbors said White grew up in the neighborhood until her family moved to Fall River, but that she moved back to Swansea and lived with her girlfriend in a single-family house on Ocean View Avenue.

“Melissa never bothered anybody. She just stayed to herself. Everybody that knew her loved her,” said a neighbor on Seabury Street in Fall River who only gave her first name, Kathy.

At 1:35 a.m. Sunday, the Swansea Police Department received multiple 911 calls regarding a shooting on the roadway near 356 Ocean Grove Ave. Upon arriving at the scene, police officers and paramedics found White lying in the street with an apparent gunshot wound to her chest, according to the district attorney’s office.

Neighbors said that White appeared to have been shot at the corner of Ocean Grove and Bluff avenues. White was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy.

The district attorney’s office said that, following the initial investigation, Levesque was taken into custody at the scene and arrested without incident.

Don Fahey, an Ocean Grove Avenue resident, said Levesque is a retired security guard whose family operates a local business, Levesque Tree Service. Fahey also said that Levesque is the father of Nicole Levesque, a Swansea police officer. Fahey described Levesque as being friendly and “soft-spoken” during the few times that they interacted with each other. Fahey said the murder allegations were out of character.

“I didn’t even know he had a gun,” said Fahey, who woke up Sunday morning to state police troopers searching his parked vehicle for bullet holes.

In a short press release issued Sunday afternoon, the district attorney’s office said it would not release additional details because the investigation “remains active at this time.”

Several residents described the Ocean Grove Avenue neighborhood as being generally peaceful, but that there have been recent problems. On July 16, at the same intersection where White was shot, a 21-year-old man was stabbed after being robbed by two young men, their faces covered by hooded sweatshirts. The victim’s wounds were not life-threatening. Police later arrested a 17-year-old New Bedford boy with ties to Swansea. The other suspect remains at large.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a peaceful neighborhood. I feel sorry for what happened,” said John Jones, the owner of the Happy Clam Bar and Grill, which is located at the southwest corner of the intersection at Ocean Grove and Bluff avenues. Jones said the bar was closed at the time of the shooting.

“I’ve never had a problem in this neighborhood. I’ve left my door open. Now, I’m thinking about moving with what’s happened,” said Fahey, who lives in the Swansea neighborhood during the summer and spends the rest of the year in Florida.

A resident at White’s Ocean View Avenue home declined to comment Sunday.

Kathy, the neighbor on Seabury Street in Fall River, said White lived with her mother and brother for a few years in the city. Kathy said that White worked construction and celebrated a birthday last week. She said that White often visited the Fall River neighborhood to see her relatives, who were not prepared to comment Sunday.

“Melissa loved her mother and brother,” said Kathy, who cried as she described loving White as a daughter. “She was a good person. She was funny, always making people laugh, very outgoing.”

According to online court records, White had a pending criminal case out of Rhode Island for assault and disorderly conduct charges. The Providence Journal reported that police arrested White for allegedly punching a man outside a Providence nightclub in October 2013. In November, the court issued a warrant after she missed a court hearing, according to online court records.

The investigation into White’s homicide is being coordinated by Assistant District Attorney Dennis Collins, who will also be handling Monday’s arraignment, officials said.

The Swansea Police Department and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the district attorney’s office, as well as Homicide Unit prosecutors, are investigating the case.

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